Trivia for The Da Vinci Code.
To protect both the fabric of the building and the works of art it contains, the production's use of the Louvre Museum in Paris was carefully controlled. For instance, no equipment was allowed inside the Louvre during the opening hours, so filming took place at night. Since the crew were not permitted to shine light on the Mona Lisa, a replica was used to film instead. No blood or mysterious writings were permitted on the wooden floor of the museum so these scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios outside London. In the end, 5 replicas of the Mona Lisa were used. The film received a lot of controversy due to its religious content, but in the US the film was not banned or censored. However, director Comic-Con San Diego did reveal that he planned to release the film as a PG-13 picture but that the MPAA considered the film to be too graphic for a PG-13 rating. The MPAA specifically said that the whipping scenes were too disturbing and that some of the killings in the film were too bloody. According to Jean Reno, Dan Brown wrote the part of Captain Fache with him in mind. According to the Associated Press, during a preview for movie critics in Cannes, a line spoken by Tom Hanks "drew prolonged laughter and some catcalls". Nearing the end of the screening, "there were a few whistles and hisses, and there was none of the scattered applause even bad movies sometimes receive at Cannes." There have been protesters at several movie theaters across the United States on opening weekend protesting the themes of the film, citing it as blasphemy and claiming that it shames both the Catholic Church, and Jesus Christ himself. More than 200 protesters also turned out in Athens, Greece to protest the film's release shortly before opening day. In Manila the movie was banned from all theaters and the set by the local MTRCB as an R18 movie for the Philippines.In Pittsburgh, protesters also showed up at a special screening of the film the day before its widespread release. Protests also occurred at the filming sites, but only a monk and a nun stood in a quiet protest at the Cannes premiere.In Chennai, India, the film was banned for a two-month period to appease local Christian and Muslim groups. When filming was finished, the running time of all the shot material of this film ran roughly four to six hours long, thus including several similar scenes shot in an alternative manner, including an alternative death scene for Silas and some extended conversations. The theatrical running time of the film was trimmed down to 149 minutes, but director Comic-Con San Diego did release an "Extended Cut" of the film which ran 174 minutes including new scenes and more explanations. Cameo: Director of the movie Dan Brown and his wife can be seen in the (out of focus) background of one of the book signing scenes. The film received controversy worldwide. Although The Da Vinci Code was passed by Chinese censors, it was abruptly removed by authorities from public view in mainland China, after "a remarkable run in China, grossing over $13 million", due to protests by Chinese Catholic groups. The film was banned in Egypt due to pressure from Coptic Christians. Some Muslims compared the film to the Danish cartoons that had caused a controversy earlier that year. Hafez Abu Saeda, of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights stated that "This violates freedom of thought and belief ... This is fiction. It's art and it should be regarded as art."The biggest cinema in the Faroe Islands, Havnar Bio, decided to boycott the film, effectively blocking it from the other smaller cinemas, who rely on second-hand films from this source, because it seems to be blasphemous in their point of view. Havnar Bio is privately owned, and their decision is based on their own private opinion. A private initiative by the individual Herluf Sørensen has arranged the movie to be played, despite the boycott by Havnar Bio. The movie opened at the Nordic House in the Faroe Islands on the June 5, 2006. There was a huge outcry in many states by the Christian minorities to ban the film from screening in India for the perceived anti-Christian message. Possibly the largest reaction occurred in Kolkatawhere a mob of bike-riding young men from Rippon Street, a predominantly Christian neighbourhood broke the glass of the front door display of Oxford Bookstore, seized copies of the book and threw them into the pavement and the streets, waving hand-painted signs and shouting slogans which called for a ban on the release of the film. However, police dispersed the mob within a short while and the film released on the planned date without further incident. After the release, it was viewed by a large number of Christians from Kolkata, who seemed satisfied with the nature of the depiction. Ultimately, the movie was allowed to be released without any cuts but with an A (Adults Only) certification from the Central Board for Film Certification and a 15-second disclaimer added at the end stating that the movie was purely a work of fiction. The film has been banned in Punjab, Goa, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh High Court subsequently reversed the State Government's order banning the screening of the film in the state. The Indian Censor Board, however, had cleared the movie for release on Friday, June 2. The Supreme Court of India also rejected petitions calling for a ban on the film, saying the plot which suggested Jesus was married was fictional and not offensive. The film was banned in Jordan where authorities said the film "tarnishes the memory of Christian and Islamic figures and contradicts the truth as written in the Bible and the Koran about Jesus". The film was banned in Lebanon. Pakistan banned The Da Vinci Code for showing what officials called blasphemous material about Jesus. Christian groups, along with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal held protests against the film calling for a global ban. The Philippine Alliance Against Pornography (PAAP) appealed to then Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to stop the showing of The Da Vinci Code in the Philippines. They branded the film as "the most pornographic and blasphemous film in history" and also requested the help of Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and other religious groups to stop the showing of the film. However, Cecille Guidote Alvarez, Philippine Presidential Adviser on Culture and the Arts, said the Philippine government would not interfere in the controversy about the film and leaves the decision to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board's (MTRCB) rating. Eventually, MTRCB decided to give The Da Vinci Code an R-18 rating (restricted to those 18 years of age and above) despite PAAP's opposition for showing it. The film was banned outright in the Independent State of Samoa after church leaders watching a pre-release showing filed a complaint with film censors.In Singapore, the Media Development Authority, passed the unedited version of the movie, albeit with an NC-16 rating, a restriction for children below the age of 16. Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said he would seek to have the film banned in his country, as it might threaten the Solomons' predominantly Christian faith. Sri Lanka is also one of the countries that banned the film from being released. It was banned by presidential order of Mahinda Rajapakse. Christian groups in this mostly Buddhist country protested the film and called for it to be banned. On May 16, 2006, the Thai Censorship Committee issued a ruling that the film would be shown, but that the last 10 minutes would be cut. Also, some Thai subtitles were to be edited to change their meaning and passages from the Bible would also be quoted at the beginning and end of the film. However, the following day, Sony Pictures appealed the ruling, saying it would pull the film if the decision to cut it was not reversed. The censorship panel then voted 6–5 that the film could be shown uncut, but that a disclaimer would precede and follow the film, saying it was a work of fiction.This last-minute decision caused the premiere to be delayed or cancelled in some provincial theatres as the updated film reels were shipped from Bangkok. This is the second film in the Robert Langdon film series. The first one is Angels and Demons (2000), the third one is The Lost Symbol (2009) and the fourth one is Inferno (2013). Tom Hanks told the Evening Standard that those involved with the movie "always knew there would be a segment of society that would not want this movie to be shown. But the story we tell is loaded with all sorts of hooey and fun kind of scavenger-hunt-type nonsense." He said it is a mistake "to take any sort of movie at face value, particularly a huge-budget motion picture like this." He also stated at the Cannes Film Festival that he and his wife saw no contradiction between their faith and the film, as "My heritage, and that of my wife, suggests that our sins have been taken away, not our brains." At Cannes, Ian McKellen was quoted as saying "While I was reading the book I believed it entirely. Clever Dan Brown twisted my mind convincingly. But when I put it down I thought, 'What a load of pause potential codswallop." During a May 17, 2006 interview on The Today Show with the Da Vinci Code cast and director, Matt Lauer posed a question to the group about how they would have felt if the film had borne a prominent disclaimer that it is a work of fiction, as some religious groups wanted. (Some high-ranking Vatican cabinet members had called for a boycott of the film.) McKellen responded, "I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying 'This is fiction.' I mean, walking on water? It takes. . . an act of faith. And I have faith in this movie—not that it's true, not that it's factual, but that it's a jolly good story." He continued, "And I think audiences are clever enough and bright enough to separate out fact and fiction, and discuss the thing when they've seen it."